CONFUSING ACCOUNTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 126, 30 May 1941, Page 6

CONFUSING ACCOUNTS

The purpose of Public Accounts should be to give the public a clear picture of State taxing and spending so thai the individual may arrive at an intelligent and well-informed judgment. It is impossible, of course, to issue an individual balance-sheet, but it should be possible to prepare the accounts in such a form that the

taxpayer may make an approximate calculation for himself; so that he may say: "I earn £500 a year and pay, say. £80 to £100 in direct or indirect taxation —so much for the war, so much for social security (though my benefits are limited by the means test) and so much for general State purposes." Owing mainly to the way in which the Public Accounts are separated and issued, it is almost impossible to make such a calculation. The Consolidated Fund accounts were published yesterday, but, as we pointed out, they did not include the War Expenses Account or the Social Security Fund. They covered probably less than two-thirds of the Stale revenue and expenditure. They did not even show the full receipts for particular forms of taxation. For example, they showed £15,720,000 from income tax, but not the proceeds of the income super-tax, or the national security and social security taxes which are also on income. They showed stamp and death duties at £1,698,000, but not the death and gift duties (estimated at £1,950,000) earmarked for war purposes. They showed sales tax at £3,503,000, but not the proceeds of the extra 5 per cent, (estimated at £2,000,000 for an incomplete year).

For ihese further details the public may have to wait till the Budget is presented, and last year's Budget did not show the position of the Social Security Fund. In general ihe accounts are so separated and presented that an intelligent estimate of taxing and State spending is extremely difficult to form. Separate

accounts are probably advisable, but they should all be issued at the same time and in such a way that a view of the whole of the transactions may be quickly and easily obtained. This is vitally important, for the time has come when the public must ask concerning public expenditure (as they are concerning their own private spending) : Is the return worth while?